Rifle-toting banana cited for roadside soliciting

Published 4:39 pm, Saturday, February 8, 2014

A man dressed in a banana costume and toting an assault rifle was cited for soliciting along a roadside after multiple complaints from passers-by.

The complaints started about 10 a.m. at Texas 105 near the Eastex Freeway service road, according to a Beaumont Police Department report. When officers arrived they saw the costumed man with an AK-47 slung across his back, advertising a local tactical and security store.

Officers cited him for voilation of a city ordinance prohibithing roadside solicitation and took down information on the weapon in preparation for consulting the Jefferson County District Attorney's Office "concerning possible future criminal charges related to his display of the firearm," the report said.